I love the Cardinals here Kyle Lohse is used to fast starts like this and he has a 2.99 ERA in his career vs. the Astros with 9 of 10 quality starts posting a 2.56 ERA. I know we will get 6innings or more with no more than 3 ER from him here today. The Astros won last night in the 9th and that sets us up well for today as the Astros are 1-10 following a win and haven't won back to back at home in quite some time. Lance Berkman continued his hot hitting yesterday going 2-5 he is 1-2 with a HR off Happ who St Louis had one game where they got him out in the 2nd inning as Happ gave up 7 ER in 1 inning and the other he went the full game. Overall the Cards have a .375 average with a 1.022 OPS vs. Happ and I feel confident they can get more than the Astros can on Wednesday. The Stros have definitely picked up their bats as of late, but a lot of that damage is coming against left handers and I don't see the Cards bullpen that has been strong all year struggling again as they did last night. JA Happ is a guy I will definitely favor in match ups in the future but not here as he has struggled in 3 of his 4 starts this year and I haven't seen any signs of him coming out of it so I don't expect a dominant start which is what he'll need to give the Astros a chance to win.
Love the Indians run line here Josh Tomlin has a complete game under his belt vs. the Royals and KC has been struggling. Tomlin is a young pitcher and a rising star he posted a 5-1 record at home last year with a 3.58 ERA and now he has a 2.08 ERA at home to start this year. Cleveland has won 8 straight at home out scoring opponents 48-17. Their home dominance makes them a realistic threat in the AL Central. Indians are also a top 5 hitting machine against LHP. They are #3 in OPS with .861 behind Texas with .895. Rangers were the first team to rough up Jeff Francis the lefty went 5 innings gave up 9 hits in 4 IP. batters have a .293 average off him this year and he's been good in all but that start, but the scouting report is getting around the American League and I think Cleveland who has hit lefties hard .288 average 6.89 runs per 9 at home will take advantage of the situation. Francis made a start at Cleveland a couple years ago he went 5.2 IP gave up 7 ER. Sizemore and Orlando Cabrera are 5-11 vs. him with a HR. Cleveland is 14-3 in their last 17 as a favorite.
